'There are more private security forces in Costa Rica than public ones'

There are more private security forces in Costa Rica than public ones

In most countries and territories in the world, most citizens have always turned to the government for security. It is an important component of living in a nation that a government is supposed to provide, the failure to do so may mean a return to ruthless anarchy.

One of our readers, however, said in a previous post about conducting business in Costa Rica that security remains an issue in the country that private security suddenly became an excellent business idea. Together in the comment was a link to an article saying that there are more private security firms in Costa Rica than ordinary police officers.

As of the third quarter of 2009, there's already a total of 803 licensed private security firms in the country, giving a total of 20,000 licensed security guards. Compare this to the public sector with only 13,000 members. Of course this figure does not include other under-the-table firms.

What does this say about the Costa Rican government? Lack of funding and lack of manpower are two main reasons why the public police force cannot much the private security firms. I don't know why this is the case given Costa Rica's good reputation in the region, but something certainly has to be done. It may be difficult to match the private sector's offers, but probably the government can do something to entice locals to get a post in the public force.

Recent surveys show that a quarter of Costa Ricans believe that crime should be the main concern of the government today. It has managed to come out with a decent sustainable tourism program. I believe it can also do so when it comes to crime prevention.

In the end, if this succeeds, we might as well see a revival in crime prevention and security just like in years past.

Costa is a beautiful country, thanks for the information

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